Textile treatment



Patented Aug. 16, 1938' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE No Drawing. Application August 10, 1936,

' Serial No. 95,176

Claims. (Cl. 21-5) This invention relates to'improvements in textile treatment, and moreparticularly to improved materials and processes for the treatment of animal fibers and textiles, such as wool, against 5 damage by insect life, the usual example of which is the moth larvae. v

The present invention constitutes a continuation in part of the subject matter disclosed and claimed in my copending application flled-May 4,

1935, and bearing Serial No, 19,777.

Numerous processes and materials have been heretofore proposed and used, with indifferent success, for the protectionof wool and other ani-' mal fibers and textiles against the ravages ofmoth. Probably the least unsatisfactory formof treatment involves an immersion of the fabric in a bath of a treating'liquid carrying an in-- 30 sidered as a class, exhibit the extreme dlsadvantage of being too high in'cost for general, frequent and repeated usage, the economic factor having heretofore been the chief deterrent to F their widespread and general adoption. Certain inorganic chemicals. have heretofore been proposed for use in mothprooflng fabrics.

The inorganic chemicals having therequisite toxic and moth repellent effect are however subject to the disadvantages of being either prohibi- 4 tive in cost for widespread and'general use, or

' of being. of such low or negligible'solubility in liquid hydrocarbons as to prevent their application in this manner, and of such low solubility in .aqueous solution as to require an amount of water harmful to the fabric, in order to effect a uniform distribution of the toxic or repellent through the wool. The present invention has as its general and major objective, the attainment of a 5,0 mothproo-fin'g process which may be practiced at extremely low cost, is susceptible of easyand widespread commercial application, may be practiced by anyone without special-training or skill, and which overcomes all of the above noted dis- 55 advantages attending the processes attempted of a killing agency concurrrently with the application to and distribution through the fabrics for the same purpose, priorto the developments of the applicant in this field.

A further object of the invention is attained in a treatment'for mothproofing, involving the use under treatment, of a moth repellant, which latter remains in finely divided state, on and in the fabric treated.

Yet another object of the invention is attained 10 in the combined use, requiring only a single stage of treatment, of a liquid hydrocarbon as a killing agent or insecticide, and an inorganic repellant or toxic of water base type, the latter being retained by the cloth or textile asan insectifuge to prevent attack thereof (by mother moth larvae.

'Yet another object of the invention is attained in an improved dispersing material, whereby an aqueous solution of an inorganic insectifuge of water-base type may be more evenly dispersed and utilized in a. liquid hydrocarbon, than has been possible with dispersing agents heretofore known or used for any similar purpose.

A still further object of the invention is attained in an improved process and mixture for mothproofing woolen garments, which possess a marked economic" advantage, due to the use 'of an extremely low cost toxic or .repellant of water base type, and yet which requires materially less water to effect a complete dispersion and distribution of the toxic through the fabric, than in heretofore prevailing processes.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of certain selected and exemplary practices and materials, all within the' scope of the present invention.

Since it is usually quicker and more convenient, particularly in treatment of substantial quantities of fabric such as wool, to effect such treatment by immersion, the process and preferred materials will beldescribed in connection with immersion treatments, although obviously applicable for use in other ways, as by spraying. As abath for the new treatment, and by prefer- 'ence constituting substantially the major portion of the liquid utilized, there is employed, in substantially known amount, a hydrocarbon preferably having a distinct killing effect on moth and moth larvae, the liquid so utilized being further such that it will evaporate following-the treatment so as to leave the cloth or fabric free 'of this liquid, and any attendant odors, within a reasonable time. The properties noted are possessed'in satisfactory degree bymost of the by hydrogenation or polymerization processes,

also light hydrocarbons of the nature of petroleum products, such as benzene and casing head gasoline, and still further, those products known in the trade as chlorinated'hydrocarbons and including, for example, carbon tetrachloride and trichlorethylene. I

In the preparation of the material there may be employed as a toxic or semi-permanent repellant for deposit in and retention by the fabric, any of the fluorides or arsenic salts, the criterion of selection being first, an appreciable or reasonable solubility in water, and secondly, a low cost ot the toxic or repellant material. Exhaustive laboratory work based on comparisons of treated fabrics in the presence of math larvae, with untreated control samples, and taking into account also the quantity of the inorganic toxic or repellant which may be deposited through the use of a limited quantity of water, has indicated magnesium silicofluoride to be considerably superior to the other fluorides and silicofluorides which have come to"notice. This preference is further indicated by its appreciably higher solubiiity" than other of the fluorides, particularly in comparison with sodium silicoiluoride heretofore utilized to some extent in water solutions for spraying treatments. At usual temperatures of the order of 17.5. degrees 0., magnesium silicofluoride may be dissolved in water to the extent of 64.8 percent, while sodium silicofiuoride only to the extent of .65 percent. It has been customary in connection with certain practices utilizing the sodium salt, to employ] therewith acid/ solutions. of appreciable strength, which obviously will have a detrimental efiect on the fibers or textile under treatment, Omitting the acid, it will appear that a given necessarily restricted amount of water utilized as a solvent and carrier for the inorganic toxic, will contain several times as uch of the magnesium silicofluoride as of the odium salt, with proportionate advantages in the retention, by the fabric, of the repellant properties or toxicity against moth.

In view of the noted advantages of magnesium silicofiuoride, the steps typifying the use of this as a repellant or toxic, will be described as exem-.

plifying the invention. It is preferred, in order to be assured of standardization of moth-repellant properties and costs, that the repellant, such as V magnesium silicoiluoride', be employedin quantitles definitelyproportioned to the dry weight of the fabric to be treated. As atypical example, for each pound of wool to be treated, there is utilizedone-f'ourth ounce of a four to six percent aqueous solution of. magnesium silicoiluoride.

The solution may, if desired, be made somewhat stronger, say up to ten percent. It is also to be noted that the exact quantity of the solution em ployed per pound of wool, is not critical, and may be varied for example, between limits of one-sixth ounce to one ounce, or if a stronger solution-.of'

the fluoride is employed, as little as one-eighth ounce per pound of wool will serve to impart a sufiicient amount of' toxic repellant to the cloth to prevent, almost indefinitely, any moth damage thereto.

Were the aqueous solution of the fluoride added either directly to the fabric prior to its immersion in the bath aforesaid, or were the solution to be added directly to the liquid bath, the two liquids,

not being inherently miscible, would require extensive and protracted agitation to attain even for a short time, a satisfactory dispersion of the water-toxic solution in the liquid hydrocarbon. Experiments have indicated that,while there are a number of substances which will eflect a dispersion to a certain extent, there are wide dif-...

ferences in the manner in whichthe water solution is absorbed by the fabric, according to the materials employed to effect dispersion For example, with certain dispersants there is-a marked tendency of the .cotton portions of clothing, such as men's suits, to absorb the greaterpartof the aqueous solution with the effect of robbing the wool portions thereof which itis particularly desired to treat against moth attack. It has-been determined however that dispersing agents be-' longing to the class of sulfonated alcohols, and similar materials sometimes referred to as the sulfonated esters of sodium salts, possess the property of causing first, a fine, homogeneous and reasonably enduring dispersion of the water solution in the hydrocarbon bath without requiring an excess of agitation, and secondly, possess distinct advantages in ca g absorption of the aqueous solution by the wool desired to be treat-' ed, at least equal to the absorption thereof by ac-. companying cotton or vegetable fibers which obviously require no repellant treatment against moth or the like. While several substances of the general. class above referred to are satisfactory for use as dispersing agents, experiments have indicated sulfonated lauryl alcohol as particularly suitable. This material is preferably employed in .an amount-usually of one-third of one percent of the total weight of liquid, and-although the limits are not critical, preferablybetween oneeighth to three-fourths of one percent of the total weight of liquid, considering all factors, such as cost and dispersing results attained.

It will have appeared from the foregoing that the solution of the toxic-repellant in water in the substantial amounts and proportions stated,

having regard for the quantity of wool or fabric under treatment, is then treated with the sulfonated alcohol or ester selected or preferred. The resultant mixture and solution is then added to the liquid hydrocarbon, this mixture being agitated for ashort time, a few seconds. being usually sufllcient. It isimmaterial whether the fabric or fabric articles to be treated have,previously been immersed in the volatile hydrocarbon, prior to the addition of the prepared aqueous solution including the dispersant, or whether the textiles are immersed following the addition of the solution and dispersant to the hydrocarbon bath. It is-preferred for convenience of practice,

that the liquids be mixed and the aqueous solution dispersed in the hydrocarbon prior to the immersion treatment of the fabric.

My preference is to agitate the fabric in the liquid as by the use of a washer or .drum, 'or by any other suitable equipment, following which the fabric is removed, the hydrocarbon caused to evaporate therefrom so that the water which will have evaporated by this time or later, will leave an evenly dispersed invisible deposit of the magnesium silicofluoride in intimate union with the fibers throughout the cloth. The moth-repellant properties of the retained salt are such as to render thefabric proof against attack by moths for asubstantial period of time, and the toxicrepellant has the further advantage over many of the organic toxics in that it is extremely stable and unaffected by sunlight as are manyef the much more expensive repellants, for example, the

quinidine derivatives, rhotenone, and many of the alkaloids and their derivatives.

solution by the fabric. This end point is readily observed by change in appearance of the liquid bath, or as observed for example, in a sight glass associated with the agitating apparatus, so that the clothing or fabric may be removed as soon as thehydrooarbon clarifies to a degree approaching normal transparency. when this end point is attained, 'it may here be noted that only a negligible quantity, say merely a trace, of the aqueous solution remains in the hydrocarbon. This fact results-in the advantage of enabling further use of the hydrocarbon for subsequent batches and cycles oftreatment with no accumulation in concentration of the aqueous solution. and also enables the use of the subsequent hydrocarbon for any other purpose, such for example as cleaning,

or otherwise as may bedesired. I

It wiilha ve appeared that the process described embodies several concurrently practiced steps, via, the utilization of the hydrocarbon as a medium for-killing moth eggs, larvae or insects which maybe on the cloth at the time of its treamtent; This function of the liquid hydrocar-- bon is however realized at the "same time as its function as a vehicle,' carrier or distributing agency for the aqueous solution containing the toxic-repellant. Evaporation of the hydrocarbon 'and ,the water, leaves the fabric not only im mediately free of all insect life, but proofed against any ravages of moth or the like which might otherwise subsequently take place.

While the invention has been described by mak-- ing specific and particular reference to exemplary practices and materials employed for the purposes stated, the specification is to be understood not in a limiting, but in a descriptive sense, certain changes in the practice and materials utilized, being possible within the scope of-the claims hereunto appended. I 1

Iclaimasmy invention: I

1. The process of mothproofing textile fabrics by liquid immersion, which consists in agitating the fabrics in a liquid hydrocarbon bath contain-- ing a quantityof an aqueous solution of an instantially complete absorption organic. moth repellant consisting substantially of a relatively soluble fluoride, the solution being dispersed in the liquid'hydrocarbon'to an extent to produce a visible opacity, proportioning the quantity of the aqueous solution to the weight of the fabric under treatment, and in agitating the fabric in the liquid mixture until substantial clarification of the liquid, as indicating-absorption of the aqueous solution by the fabric.

' 2. The process of mothproofing textile fabrics, which consists in immersion of the fabric in a bath, of a liquid hydrocarbon containing a dispersed aqueous solution of magnesium silicofluoride to serve as a moth toxic or repellant in an amount of the order of one-sixth ounce to one ounce of a four to ten percent water solution-of the .toxic, per pound of dry fabric, and in agitat ing the fabric under treatment in the liquid mixture for a length of time to cause substantial clarification of the hydrocarbon as indicating sub-, of the aqueous solution by the fabric.

3. A liquid for the immersion treatment of textile fabrics against moths and like insects, which consists of a quantity of liquid hydrocarbon at I least 'sufficient to saturate the quantity of fabric to betreated, a quantity of magnesium silicofluoride homogeneously dispersed in the hydrocarbon and present therein as an aqueoussolution of less I than 10% strength, in'an amount under one ounce of suchsolution per pound of fabric to be treated, and a dispersing medium for the magneslum silicofluoride, consisting of a sulfonated alcohol in an amount of 'the' order of 1% of the totalweight of liquid.

4. A liquid for the immersion treatment of textile fabrics again'stdamage by moths or like insects, which includes a liquid hydrocarbon in an amount at least suflicient to moisten thoroughly the quantity of fabric to be treated, an aqueous solution of magnesium silicofluoride of a strength of the order of two to ten percent, the magnesium siiicofluoride solution being present in the mixture between limits of one-sixth ounce to one ounce, per pound of fabric to be treated, and a dispersing agent in an amount of the order of 1% of the weight of liquid utilized in the treatment.

5. A liquid for the immersion treatment of textile fabrics against damage by moths or like insects, which includes a readily volatile liquid bydrocarbon in an amount at least sufllcient to :moisten thoroughly the quantity of fabric to be treated. an aqueous solution of magnesium silicofluoride of a strength of the order of four to ten percent, the-magnesium silicofluoride solution being dispersed in the hydrocarbon and utilized in the mixture between limits of one-eighth to one-half ounce per pound of fabric to be treated.

' AUGUST c. mscnna. 

